On November 22, 2017, CIM Group LP announced the fund would buy out the Trump Organization and terminate its agreement with Trump business years before the contract expires, ending the illegal payments from state pension funds to the President and signifying an important victory in the fight to challenge corruption at the highest levels of government.

The New York luxury hotel and condo property has been at the center of fraud and money laundering allegations since it was first developed, and when its lackluster financial performance led to bankruptcy, CIM Fund III, a private equity fund where CalPERS, New York State, and nine other state and local pension funds had sunk hundreds of millions of their members’ funds, acquired it through foreclosure.

Under the terms of the foreclosure, the fund manager paid millions to the Trump organization to “market and manage” the Trump SoHo. The investment in Trump SoHo became even more problematic once Trump became President, because the arrangement meant that the fees state pension funds were paying to the fund manager were making their way directly into President Trump’s pockets. The U.S. Constitution prohibits states like California or its pension fund, from making payments to the President under a provision known as the Domestic Emoluments Clause.

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In September 2018, Free Speech For People launched a campaign calling on Congress to begin an impeachment investigation of then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh, for committing perjury. We later expanded the grounds for an impeachment investigation to include allegations of sexual assault … More »